This is genocide. The people in Gaza are starving because of the Israeli government’s blockade on food going into Gaza. “There is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses and orchards in Gaza – other than to deny people access to food,” Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told the Guardian. Fakhri went on to call this blockade on food ‘a situation of genocide.’
Israel has had Gaza under economic blockade limiting goods and services in and out of Gaza starting at least as far back as 1991, according to Sara Roy’s writing for Institute of Palestime Studies USA on the Gaza Strip.
On April 26, 2024, 7 rabbis and activists entering from Israel were detained by the Israeli government for trying to bring food into Gaza. The detainment paperwork said they were detained for trying to feed people, according to Rabbi Alissa Wise, one of those arrested, in an interview on Democracy Now!
Israel is using humanitarian aid as a weapon, firing on Palestinian people who have gathered to get food for their starving families, according to a Feb 29, 2024 report by Aljazeera, reporting that “More than 100 killed and about 750 wounded after Israeli forces fired at Palestinians trying to get flour for their families as famine stalks the Strip.”
UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) needs to be re-funded by the US so the aid is actually getting delivered. On April 17, 2024, the UN reported that Israel is “denying life-saving aid to Gaza.” Israeli forces should not fire on people getting food.
Meanwhile the West Bank part of Palestine is under apartheid. Palestinian shepherds are being attacked by Israeli settlers, as reported by many sources including Amnesty International in their April 22, 2024 report: “State-backed deadly rampage by Israeli settlers underscores urgent need to dismantle apartheid.” Palestinian businesspeople in the West Bank face closed checkpoints during the morning commute times so they either have to leave extremely early, taking a circuitous route that adds hours to their travel, or be prevented from leaving for work until 9am. This is so the Israeli settlers have less traffic, according to Daoud Nassar, who spoke on April 10th, 2024 at the Churches for Middle East Peace Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C. Nassar went on to say that his farm is routinely attacked by armed, illegal Israeli settlers who threaten him and attempt to keep him from farming.
Israeli settlements are all illegal settlements in the West Bank under international law, but the Israeli settlers are protected by Israeli military according to a 2019 report by Amnesty International. In 2024 Israel has claimed a “record amount of West Bank land as State-owned” according to an April 11, 2024 article by Shezaf Hagar for Haaretz:Israeli News. The Nassar family farm mentioned above, called Tent of Nations for ita peace advcacy work, is one of these Palestinian farms that the Israeli government is trying to steal, despite the Nassar family’s complete ownership paperwork going back generations, that has been repeatedly submitted to the Israeli courts in proof of ownership. Daoid Nassar talks about the ongoing court challenges in his 2023 book We Refuse to Be Enemies.
The US needs to cut all diplomatic ties with Israel. As Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on May 1st, 2024 when he cut ties with Israel on behalf of Colombia, “The times of genocide, of the extermination of an entire people, can not return before our eyes.”
Genocide is always wrong. There are no two sides to genocide. I need to stand up and say the truth so US student protesters, who are stepping up in solidarity that is seen around the world, are supported. I know genocide is wrong so I stand up.
As an American citizen I feel a responsibility to speak up. The US is Israel’s most important ally. The raising of American voices against this genocide will pressure US President Joseph Biden’s administration to stop arming this genocide. We saw that Biden heeded our call when he halted an arms shipment, as reported by Barak Ravid in Axios on May 5, 2024. But now Biden has said he will reinstate 1 billion worth of aid to Israel even though the bombing in Rafa continues.
The Biden administration will only use that pressure on Israel when we as citizens pressure Biden. Write in Uncommitted on the democratic primary to send the message to Biden that you will not vote for an administration that supports genocide.
